


Music Sounds Better With You

by AlgernonInWonderland



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Band Fic, Consensual Sex, Fluff and Humor, Lipstick & Lip Gloss, M/M, Multi, Police Brutality, References to the Beatles, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 14:07:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlgernonInWonderland/pseuds/AlgernonInWonderland
Summary: Falling for Luka is easy. They start writing songs together, Adrien and him, sitting on Luka’s bed with a notebook and lots of ideas. Luka laughs at Adrien’s impression of Jagged Stone, Adrien is amazed, the other boy’s guitar skills are really something even though he keeps repeating that his sister is much better and deserves her place as the lead guitarist. Truly, these writing sessions are mostly them doing a whole bunch of nothing and goofing around. And Adrien feels that his smile is becoming truer.





	Music Sounds Better With You

Falling for Luka is easy, and it happens without Adrien even noticing it at first. Luka is the cool musician who shreds his guitar on stage, Juleka’s laid-back big brother, though he really is less than a year older than Juleka. Luka dresses up the way he wants, and gets to do what he wants to with his hair. He is so free, so nonchalant about everything yet he seems to care deeply for others. He makes it seem easy. Perhaps he struggled with that earlier in his life, perhaps it’s because he’s older but if it's the case it doesn’t show.

 

Adrien is a little envious at first. He’s not as cool, he can’t exactly shred the piano, and he wears the clothes his father has created for him, which make him feel like some sort of big advertising poster sometimes. But Luka doesn’t seem to mind that, about Adrien being someone’s son or a model, though he tells him that he looks good every so often. Luka invites him to join Kitty Section as an official member, and after days of arguing with Nathalie and Father, Adrien finally gets to be in a band. They’re a pretty underground thing anyway, so M. Agreste doesn’t have to worry about his fame being tarnished.

 

They practice once or twice a week, depending on the weather and the homework they have to do, and the akuma attacks which tend to occur more and more often these days. Rose is a fairly motivated band leader and quite happy to spend some time with her girlfriend, Ivan is always eager to learn new songs and Anarka Couffaine is okay with them making as much noise as they want to. Adrien doesn’t really care about the songs they play at first, it’s just fun being there and performing together, even if it’s just them in a houseboat. Or perhaps because it is them in a houseboat.

 

Other than that, Adrien doesn’t see much of Luka. He goes to a different school, and doesn’t really hang out with his sister’s friends outside of the band and, apparently, Marinette with whom he gets along fairly easily. He can really act like a slick lover boy, strumming softly on an acoustic guitar and telling everyone they’re beautiful notes and sincere melodies and all that. And Luka means it. Adrien feels like a fraud when he gives people his “Agreste” smile. It’s a little ironic that he feels more like himself when he wears a mask.

 

He tries to get over Ladybug and before he can truly grasp what’s going on, they’re at the ice rink, Luka and him with Kagami and Marinette in a sort of double date. Which is weird. Because Adrien knows plenty well that Kagami doesn’t like boys and Marinette seems quite intimidated by the whole thing. It goes poorly, Kagami says something about never hesitating, the ice rink’s manager is a creep and he becomes an akuma. Adrien’s a little puzzled by that turn of events, really. He’d rather just skate alone with Luka if things get this complicated. At least, Luka seems to like Chat Noir.

 

Summer’s boring, and Father doesn’t want him to leave Paris. More akuma shenanigans occur, but other than that there are few distractions for him. He plays the piano with a newfound dedication, because Ultimate Mecha Strike 3 is getting a little boring. Perhaps he wants to impress his bandmates too, but he doesn’t think about it too much. The Couffaine family is somewhere in Brittany, Nino and Alya are away too and Marinette doesn’t text him and they rarely see much of each other. It feels a little lonely. 

 

And then it’s Adrien’s turn to go to lycée, and he doesn’t get to see most of his friends from Françoise Dupont as often as before. But it’s alright; he makes new friends. He still has band practice and Rose has improved her growl technique. His bandmates notice the progress he’s made, and the Couffaine siblings start writing songs that’ll give him bigger parts. It almost becomes a routine: school, piano practice or band practice, patrols with Ladybug, sometimes with Chloé, Carapace or Rena Rouge, then as much sleep as he can get. 

 

Of course, his being a model and a fencer get in the way of that routine, and there are days he can’t go and join his friends at the Couffaine houseboat. So he gets Luka’s phone number — Father still won’t let him have access to social media— so that he can tell him if he can be there or not. Most of the time, however, they send each other silly memes and things like that. And Adrien is pretty okay with that.

 

In November, they get to do a small gig in a bar, even though they’re all completely underage. They all have heavy makeup on, Adrien even wears a wig, just so that no one will know it’s him. Luka looks very pretty with his black lips and all that pencil eyeliner, Adrien catches himself looking at these lips a lot more than he should. The gig is over and they were pretty good, all of them. Not incredible, not by a long shot, but quite good. Rose decides they should do that more often, if they get the chance, and all her bandmates agree.

 

 

Falling for Luka is easy. They start writing songs together, Adrien and him, sitting on Luka’s bed with a notebook and lots of ideas. Luka laughs at Adrien’s impression of Jagged Stone, Adrien is amazed, the other boy’s guitar skills are really something even though he keeps repeating that his sister is much better and deserves her place as the lead guitarist. She does. Truly, these writing sessions are mostly them doing a whole bunch of nothing and goofing around. And Adrien feels that his smile is becoming truer with every passing day.

 

Marinette rarely shows up at their jam sessions, but when she’s there, she isn’t as awkward to be around as she used to be. She’s a great girl, really, and sometimes, Adrien can’t help but wonder if she had a crush on him back in collège. That would certainly explain many things. But Adrien never asks. It doesn’t matter, if she did have a crush, she grew out of it, and she seems to want them to be friends now. 

 

Luka writes a song about Chat Noir and doesn’t keep his eyes off Adrien as he sings it to the rest of the band. It’s a little cheesy, a little emo but it’s still quite good. Adrien wonders if Luka knows. He has to admit, he’s around the Couffaine houseboat quite often as Chat Noir, even though he doesn’t have any particular reason for that. After he’s finished the song, Luka doesn’t say anything that could confirm Adrien’s fear. So perhaps he just really likes Chat Noir after all. They perform the song during their next gig, in a small venue. Nino suggests they record their music and put it online. Rose seems quite enthusiastic at the idea.

 

Luka had known for quite some time that Adrien was Chat Noir, but had assumed Adrien had know that he knew, is Adrien learns on a Friday afternoon. He’s in the Couffaine bathroom and Luka holds a bottle of disinfectant in his left hand and a piece of cotton wool in the right hand. Adrien has a large gash on his back as the reminder of a particularly violent akuma encounter, and even though Plagg is doing his best to speed up the healing process, it’s just not enough. Luka cleans Adrien’s wound, dresses it and they talk. There are lots of “thank you for protecting us” and “ouch” and “you’re welcome”. The wound heals quickly and leaves no scar.

 

They hang out more often, just the two of them, or the entire band, outside of practice. Adrien meets Luka’s friends and is invited to the parties he goes to. He sneaks out of his room at night just to get there, and Father doesn’t notice. It’s just incredibly freeing, and Luka has to make sure he doesn’t drink too much, because Adrien is just sixteen and definitely doesn’t know his limits and doesn’t seem to care either. Luka avoids smoking whenever Adrien or Juleka are around, which is to say most of the time. In fact he quits smoking altogether.

 

Anarka Couffaine is not a strict mother, and she doesn’t worry much about her children’s marks, what colour they dye their hair, who their friends are or who they are dating, as long as these friends or partners make them happy and don’t support the police. She doesn’t ask questions when her son’s door is closed and there’s only Adrien around, even though Luka insists it’s not like that, not yet at least. He spends more time jamming with Kitty Section and hanging out with his friends than working for his baccalauréat. Like his mother, he doesn’t seem to worry about it. He promises he’s going to wing it and ace it and somehow Adrien doesn’t doubt him.

 

They find out that Bob Roth and XY have stolen Kitty Section’s work and Luka is mad, incredibly mad, and Adrien has to face him as Chat Noir. And Silencer doesn’t try to attack him, but he’s not fully in control. Luka is deakumatised at last and when Bob Roth offers the band a contract, he gives him a nice view of his middle finger with black nail polish. He looks incredibly sad and full of guilt when Adrien visits him that night. Adrien tries to soothe him and ends up spending most of the night in Luka’s room.

 

 

 

Falling for Luka is easy, and Adrien knows he has for him, hard, when their lips meet for the first time. They’re in the middle of a writing a song when it happens. Luka is still teary-eyed from the terribly bad joke Adrien has just told when Adrien puts an arm on his shoulder and looks at him like he’s the only person he’s ever cared about. The kiss is short but sweet, and a few more follow. They hate not making it public for now, of course Luka’s mum and the rest of the band know, Nino too, but the tabloids have no idea and Gabriel Agreste doesn’t know either. Perhaps it's better that way, but it doesn't feel like it.

 

They’re trying to come up with a new name for Kitty Section, because Rose’s trying to change her songwriting and they’re doing more experimental things these days than just screamo stuff. Nino helps them produce their tracks and he’s a good addition to the band. Juleka suggest they call their band “the Houseboat” and it’s their final choice. Of course, it’s a very energetic houseboat with electric noise and a lot of drumming, but it’s theirs.

 

They do one last gig before the summer holidays and a few familiar faces show up among the crowd, Alya, Marinette, some of the old friends from Françoise Dupont, Kagami and her girlfriend, Nathaniel and his partner Marc, Luka’s friends too. They’ve really improved over the year, and they even get to do an encore. The party that follows is great, they all drink more than they should but it’s not too bad. They wake up sprawled over the couches in living room at the houseboat, and it feels like home. Home with a headache but home nonetheless.

 

Luka convinces his mum to stay in Paris a little longer instead of leaving for Brittany right away. And sure, it has some downsides, like sleeping next to Adrien in the summer. It’s sometimes truly uncomfortable, sleeping next to him; it’s truly incredible how much body heat radiates from Adrien. All they do in Luka’s bed is sleep and sometimes make out, but nothing more, at least for now, Adrien doesn’t feel ready for more and Luka doesn’t want to pressure him into doing anything because he’s slightly older than him. Besides, the weather is too hot, almost unbearably so, for that sort of thing.

 

It has its downsides but there are some good things about it, too. They manage to kiss everywhere in Paris without a single paparazzo taking a picture of them. They write more songs. It would be the perfect summer if not for the akumas which seem to get stronger and stronger. So Adrien gives Luka the Snake Miraculous and the two of them fight alongside Ladybug. Luka’s away in August, but it doesn’t feel all that lonely. They phone each other every other night, the band’s group conversation is very active.

 

Ivan and Rose may not be there at all during the summer, but the band is still going strong, they send each others song ideas, apparently Prince Ali is a big fan of their cover of ‘Cuttlefish’s Garden’. Luka will never admit he enjoys singing the backing vocals for that song, because he’s a great fan of Jagged Stone’s, which means he has to detest the Scarabs (safe for Georgie Henrisson but he doesn’t count because his solo career was good), but a smile creeps on his face when he and Adrien sing the last “in a cuttlefish’s garden with you” line.

 

September arrives all too quickly, with homework and fashion shows and more akumas than ever, but they still manage to find some time for the band and for each other, even though it never feels like enough time. They also have more and more venue opportunities, the Houseboat might even perform at a small indie festival soon. Adrien’s smiles are less and less “Agreste” when he's not at photoshoots, and more and more his own. His birthday party with his friends is one he’ll remember for quite some time. And now, he smugly wears Luka’s sweatshirt, his birthday present. 

 

Sometimes, falling for Luka isn’t all that peaceful. Things are not always perfect, but at least when they argue, it’s outside band practice. They never stay mad at each other for too long, but they had a few shouting matches about shoplifting and standing up to their parents. Still, their couple stays strong. 

 

Adrien has to fix Luka’s face after a tensed demonstration over the recent labour reforms. A CRS cop has clocked him right across the cheek with his truncheon, with no warning, and this makes Adrien very upset. He understands Anarka’s views on the police a lot better now, but Luka dissuades him from using his Cataclysm against the next-door police station as it’d only make things worse even though that’d be a fun sight.

 

Before they know it, it’s December and. Adrien gets his boyfriend a Fender Telecaster for his birthday and Luka’s eyes are all misty as he kisses him. Adrien keeps blushing for apparently no reason the next few days, and wears a turtleneck jumper even though it’s not that cold outside yet. And Luka’s hands creep under the jumper when Ivan, Juleka and Rose are not looking. 

 

 

 

Luka and Adrien are a little tense at first they take it slow and they’re a little clumsy. Even though Luka is older than Adrien, he’s never done it either. They both want this, and so Luka relaxes and lays back on the bed as Adrien’s hands travel up his thighs. His breath hitches in his throat when Adrien’s fingers… It’s really different from doing it alone. And then all forms of coherent thought are lost to him. 

 

He’s hard, Adrien’s lips are on his neck and his explore his lover’s chest — being Chat Noir certainly has it perks. He wants him, more of him. Luka can feel his face turn beet red before it happens. He tries to muffle a small moan, and it sounds a little ridiculous, and the two of them laugh in the middle of Luka’s orgasm. They’ll definitely need to wash his bedsheets. But not now. “The night is still young,” Adrien says in his sappiest voice and they laugh some more.

 

 

 

Luka will study musicology at La Sorbonne next September, but for now he needs to take his baccalauréat more seriously because his marks are barely good enough. The Houseboat is still going strong, but part of their band sessions turn into a friendly and chaotic homework group. Father would call it a waste of time. Still, it pays off, and Luka’s philosophy homework is the best in his class. He gets by with a little help from his friends.

 

It’s May and it’s their first time performing in front of so many people. Adrien makes a very risky decision that day, something that may put him in trouble with his father and that might ruin his entire modelling career. He doesn’t wear excessive makeup or that stupid wig on stage, and he can hear people whispering his name in the pit. They go through their setlist and by the end of it, after the encore, Ivan’s arms are twitchy, Rose’s throat is sore even though she’s given up on growling, Juleka is a sweaty mess after a daring solo and Luka looks out of this world when the crowd cheers for them. 

 

Father’s harsh words never come, he doesn’t asks too many questions, he doesn’t even ask him to stop playing with the band, he simply asks him to give him tickets for their next show. Adrien guesses Nathalie has paved the way for that conversation and he’s grateful for that. 

 

Summer will soon be there. Adrien can hardly wait for the 21st of June. It’ll be Make Music Day again, and the Houseboat will perform at Anarka Couffaine’s place. They’ll play loud just to infuriate the cops, and things will be just right.

**Author's Note:**

> Bonjour, bonsoir!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading that short little thing as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> (the age of consent in France is 15yo, there's no unhealthy power relation between these two and they both use protection so everything's fine, I think)
> 
> If you want to know more about how the French secondary educational system, you can read about it [here](https://algernoninwonderland.tumblr.com/post/173480547601/writing-tips-the-french-public-secondary)!
> 
> If you want to read a longer fic with the pairing opposite to this one in the love octahedron, a Kagami/Marinette thing, you're lucky because I'm writing one right now and you can read it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14408868)! It's much more developed than this short little thing, a much slower burn too but I'm not too unhappy with the last few chapters.
> 
> I have a Tumblr [here](https://algernoninwonderland.tumblr.com) if you're interested in what I write in general, or if you want to ask me stuff, or if you want to tell me how great a writer I am even though that's not true!
> 
> Also, yes, George is the best Beatle.
> 
> I'm a baguette, so I'm sorry for the bad English.


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